Rafael Nadal captured his first career championship at the Pacific Life Open and his first title since the French Open last June by defeating Serbian teen Novak Djokovic 6-2, 7-5 Sunday afternoon.
"I was very satisfied with my game, for sure with the title," said Nadal, who claimed the title without dropping a set. "It was a very great week for me. A very, very important week. And it was very important. I have eight months without any title, but I come back with big one."
This was supposed to be the tournament when top-ranked Roger Federer made history by achieving the longest consecutive match win streak in the history of the game. It did not happen and his early loss could have been disastrous for the Indian Wells tournament.
But Nadal, with every bit as much star power as Federer, came through.